written by Neko-B
neko_tachikawa@another.com
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Standard disclaimers apply. Bura and Goten are property of Akira Toriyama. I'm just using them for my own enjoyment.
~~
Dedicated to all the Bura x Goten fans!!
~~
"Bura!" a familiar voice rang out behind the blue-tressed girl. Bura curiously turned around and was pleased to find the familiar face of Son Goten, her current long-term crush.
"Hey, Goten!" the sixteen-year-old girl greeted with a smile on her face. "Long time no see!"
Goten approached Bura until he was standing directly in front of her. "We saw each other two days ago, silly girl. Was it *that* long ago?"
"No," Bura admitted, giggling. "Just seems like it."
Goten laughed softly. "You're so cute," he said softly. "Anyway. What are you doing all by yourself?"
"Walking home from school."
"Ahh. Want me to join you?"
"Sure!"
Goten smiled his usual goofy smile, the smile that made Bura go weak at the knees. They walked to Capsule Corporations together, taking a long time at the pace they were going.
"So, Goten-kun," Bura said. "How's Paresu?" She pronounced "Paresu" as though it were poison.
Goten grinned. "Jealous?" he teased.
"No!" Bura blushed.
"She's fine...last time I heard from her, anyway." Goten looked at his feet, the soles of his shoes scuffing the concrete beneath him.
"What do you mean, 'last time you heard from her'?" Bura asked curiously.
Goten let out a long breath. "We broke up a week ago..."
Bura stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh, Goten-kun, I'm so sorry." She looked sympathetic, but inside she was having a miniature celebration.
"Ah, 'salright," Goten said softly, still looking at the floor. "Maybe it's better I didn't get too involved with her anyway, you know? I mean, it's like...she can have any guy she wants. Why would she settle with someone like me?"
"Aww, Goten, you're a great guy!" Bura exclaimed. "I'm sure you have a lot of swooners as it is!"
Goten looked up, grinning at Bura. "Ya think?"
"Hai! You never know!"
Goten smiled. "You're so cute," he repeated softly. "Well, thanks for making me feel better."
"Anytime, Goten-niichan. You know I'm here for ya." Bura grinned her adorable smile again.
The two friends stopped in front of Capsule Corporations.
"Should I tell Trunks you came by?" Bura asked.
"Nahh. I need some time to think about things. I'll call him later."
"Okay! Well, see you soon!"
"Bye, Bura-chan!" With a small wave and a huge smile, Goten was off.
"Ja ne!" Bura waved back frantically, hoping he would see her. With a small sigh of happiness, she made her way into her house, where she found her mother in the kitchen.
"Konnichi wa, Mama!" Bura greeted. Bulma turned around and smiled.
"Hey there, Bura," she replied. "What happened?"
"What do you mean, Mama? Nothing..."
"Your face always gives off how you feel, Bura." With a quick examination, Bulma grinned. "You look as though a really cute guy walked you home!"
Bura's blue eyes went wide. "How did you know that?"
"You forget, I was young once too." Bulma winked. "I had my share of boys."
"YOU?" Bura giggled.
"Hai! Hard to believe, ne?" Bulma smiled, then looked out the kitchen window. "But now I have your father. And believe me, I wouldn't want to give him up for anything."
Bura's eyes grew wide with thought. "That's what I want too," she said after a moment. "I want somebody I can depend on when I grow old, you know? Like, I want somebody to be there for me when I need him. To keep me company and forever be my own..."
Bulma looked angry for a moment. "Have you been reading my romance novels again, Bura?"
"No, Mama!" she giggled.
"Good," Bulma replied. "I know you'll find someone like that, Bura. Look at how much your father and I love each other."
'WOMAN!!!!" the unmistakable voice of Vegeta rang through the entire house. "WHERE'S MY DRYING CLOTH?!?!"
"IN THE CABINET!" Bulma yelled back. She gave Bura a smile. "Hard to believe?"
"Oh yeah!" Bura smiled. Just then, the phone rang.
"I got it!" the voice of Bura's purple-haired wonder of a brother, Trunks, yelled from his bedroom. After a moment, Trunks yelled again. "BURA-CHAN! IT'S FOR YOU!"
"I'LL GET IT IN MY ROOM!" Bura ran to her bedroom and quickly kicked off her shoes. After plopping herself down on her bed, she picked up the phone. "I got it, niichan!" she said. With a small click, Trunks was gone.
"Moshi moshi?" Bura greeted.
"Hi, Bura-chan!" Pan's bouncy voice said back. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing," Bura replied. "Just got home from school. Goten-kun walked me home!" She eased herself onto her bed so she was lying down, preparing herself for her daily gabfest with Pan.
"Ooh, is a little sumthin' sumthin' going on now?" Pan teased.
Bura grinned. "Not that I know of. But maybe if I just keep hoping..." her voice trailed off.
"Hai, keep hoping!"
"Believe me, Pan-chan...I will..."
~~~
Bura let her mind wander the next day in sexual education class. Besides the fact that she loved Goten very much, she had been thinking of him more than usual lately. She was becoming almost obsessed. She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to hold him in her arms. Bura tortured herself with visions and fantasies of Goten whispering his undying love for her in her ear. Bura shivered from the thought. "Bura, what is the most common reason a woman will get physically aroused?" her sex ed. teacher interrupted her daydreams.
Bura snapped out of it, feeling disoriented. "Goten?" she replied before she fully understood what was being asked of her.
The class erupted with laughter. Pan gave her an amused look, but was decent enough not to laugh. The teacher gave Bura an annoyed look.
"Amusing, Bura," her teacher said. "Not paying attention again? Hmm?"
"Uhh...uhh...ohhhhh..." Bura groaned, sinking low in her seat, trying to hide her red face.
"As a punishment," her teacher went on. "Write me a 500-word essay on the importance of paying attention in class. I want it on my desk by Thursday."
"Hai, sensee..." Bura replied softly.
~~~
"It's not fair!" Bura complained after school that day to Pan on their way home. "I forgot where I was for the moment. Senee had no right to give me all that work, and right before the prom, too!"
"Shush, Bura-chan," Pan calmed her down. "The prom isn't until Friday. You can do the assignment and then go to the prom! Now, speaking of which..."
"Ya?"
"Are you going with someone?" Bura hung her head, her boots scraping the concrete. "Probably not. All the guys at school are icky."
"I know, I know," Pan agreed. "Uubu asked me to the prom...I don't know if I should say yes."
"OOOH! Pan-chan, you MUST go with him! That would be too kawaii!" Bura exclaimed.
"Okay, I'll go," Pan decided, but still uncertain.
~~~
"Goten?" Pan asked her uncle that night. "I need help with my homework."
"Hmm? Oh, okay," Goten replied. He pulled Pan's math notebook towards him and scratched his head, trying to remember how to do this stuff.
"Uhh, Goten? I need *help*, I don't need you to do it for me..." Pan crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh yeah. Uh, listen Pan-chan...can I ask you something?"
Pan perked up. "Sure."
Goten leaned back in his chair, sighing under his breath. "Does Bura like me?"
Pan completely froze. She swallowed hard and replied softly, "Not that I know of...why do you ask?"
"Just curious..."
~~~
The phone rang for the millionth time in the Briefs-Vegeta residence. Probably for Trunks, Bura thought bitterly.
"TRUNKS!" Bura yelled in the direction of his room. "PHONE!"
No answer. The phone kept ringing.
"TRUNKS! PHONE!"
No reply.
"Oh, to Hell with it," Bura grumbled. She put down her book and picked up her red phone. "Moshi moshi?"
"Hey, Bura-chan!" Goten's voice greeted brightly. "What are you up to?"
Bura sat straight up, tossing her book aside, focusing on the conversation. "Reading. What are you doing?"
"Just sitting on my butt," Goten replied. "Listen, I was thinking..."
"Ya?"
"Do you want to go to the prom with me on Friday?"
Bura covered her mouth to keep from screaming. "But aren't you a little old?" she wanted to know. "What if someone sees you?"
"Don't worry about it. I'll just say I'm a chaperone or something," Goten replied. "So, do you want to or not?"
"Goten-niichan, of course I'll go with you!" Bura started bouncing in her place from her sheer delight.
"Okay! I'll pick you up at about seven, li desu ka?"
"Hai! See ya!"
"Ja ne, Bura-chan." Goten hung up the phone, leaning back in his chair, a small smile on his face.
Bura did the same thing. She collapsed on her bed, sighing happily. Goten had just asked her to the prom! Where could things go from there?
~~~
"Ooh! Bura-chan, how about this one?" Marron held up a long red dress that pooled out at the waist. "It'd look great on you!"
Bura shook her head. "Nahh. It's not nice enough. I have high standards when it comes to clothing, Marron-chan. I thought you knew that by now."
"Well, all right..." Marron reluctantly put the dress back on the rack. "So you're going with Goten-kun?"
"Uh huh!" Bura bounced from the thought.
"That's great! He's so nice!"
"Don't I know it."
Just then, Pan emerged from the dressing room. "Guys, is this one all right?" she asked uncertainly.
"Ohhh..." Bura and Marron breathed in unison.
Pan looked beautiful. She was wearing a light purple dress that tightened around her small waist and pooled around her feet. The sleeves reached all around her shoulders and back with a semi-plunging neckline that complemented her small figure. Her hair was left flowing loosely behind her back and that awful bandana was gone.
"Pan-chan, it's gorgeous!" Marron exclaimed. "Uubu is going to go utterly INSANE!"
"Most definitely," Bura agreed.
Pan blushed furiously, then made her way back into the dressing room to change.
"So Bura, what are you going to wear?" Marron wanted to know.
Just then, Bura's blue eyes went wide. "I have a great idea."
"OOH! What is it?"
"Not showing -- or telling -- until the night of the prom!" Bura grinned.
"Aww, Bura-chan, you wreck everything." Marron smiled.
"I know, and I'm proud of it." Bura smiled innocently.
~~~
Bura sat at her dresser on the night of the prom. She was wearing a white slip to go underneath her dress, and she was still in her socks. She glanced at the clock positioned on her nightstand. The small red numbers read 6:02.
"Goten-kun's going to be here in awhile," Bura whispered to herself. She grinned, wondering about what the night will bring. Hopefully things would go well.
This is it, Bura told herself. Tonight's the night I have to tell Goten I love him. I've been holding it in for so long now, I can't wait any longer.
A knock came at the door, putting an abrupt stop to her daydreams. "Bura-chan?" Trunks's voice said softly. "Can I come in?"
Bura frantically pulled on a nightshirt she found on the floor. "Okay!"
Trunks walked in, closing the door behind him. "How do I look?" he asked his sister.
"Waii, kawaii!" was Bura's answer. Trunks was dressed in a white vest that tightened around his figure slightly, complementing the well-defined grooves in his body. His pants were freshly ironed and a light periwinkle color, much like his hair. Underneath the vest was a white shirt with small frills at the end of the long sleeves. He carried a small corsage in his hand of white roses. His purple hair was nicely combed and made him look better than he usually did.
"Marron-chan's going to go insane when she sees you." Bura grinned. "You're gorgeous."
"Arigatou," Trunks thanked. "What are you wearing tonight?"
"It's a surprise," Bura replied mysteriously.
"All righty. Well, I want to see it when you're finished. Ja ne for now." Trunks smiled, waved slightly, then exited the room, closing the door shut behind him.
~~~
"Bura! Trunks!" Bulma's voice came from downstairs. "Goten, Pan, Uubu, and Marron are here!" "Be down in a minute!" Trunks and Bura yelled from upstairs in unison. Trunks came downstairs first, his corsage in hand.
"Marron-chan," Trunks said before bowing grandly at her feet. "You look fabulous."
Marron blushed. She was wearing the red dress that Bura had turned down at the mall the previous day. It tightened around her miniscule waist and flared out over her shoes. The neckline stopped just low enough to show off a little cleavage; not a lot, but enough so that her parents wouldn't get all over her about it. Her blonde pigtails were still in their place, but had a small wreath of red and white roses surrounding the base of each one. To complete the outfit, her small red gloves went up to her wrists.
"This," Trunks said, handing Marron the corsage. "Is for you." He then took Marron's hand in his own and secured it onto her left wrist.
"Thank you," Marron said breathily.
"BURA!" Bulma's voice yelled once more. "GET DOWN HERE!"
Bura's bedroom door swung open and she gracefully walked down the stairs. Everyone in the room gasped silently at her goddess-like appearance.
Bura's white dress was a tube top and stopped at mid-thigh. The train of the dress dragged gracefully behind her and pooled around her feet when she stopped in one place. Her wrist-length gloves had small bows on them. A small pearl necklace hung from her neck. Her hair was left down, flowing loosely over her shoulders. Her makeup consisted of silver lipstick and white eyeshadow, complete with body glitter on her chest.
Goten approached her slowly, graciously bowing at her feet. "Bura, you look as though you just descended from the heavens."
Goten didn't look too bad either! He wore a long, thin blue jacket that stopped at his ankles. Underneath that was a white blouse with a frilled tie at the neck. His pants were the same blue as his jacket. His black hair was combed nicely, but it still stuck out in the front.
"Bura, this is for you," Goten said softly. He stood up and tied the small corsage of white and blue roses on her left wrist. "It makes you look better than you already do, if there is such a thing."
Vegeta stepped in, his ams crossed over his chest. "Goten, you take care of her, now," he warned him sternly. He didn't like the idea of his only daughter conversing with Kakkarot's child, but as long as his daughter was happy, he wasn't about to ruin it.
"Yes, sir," Goten nodded in acknowledgement.
"I'll wait up for you," Bulma smiled. "Now, you guys get going! And have fun!"
"We will, Mama!" Bura said. "See ya!" With a small wave and a humongous smile, the fabulous six were off into the limos waiting outside. The night was definitely looking up.
~~~
The fabulous six piled into the limo, each making sure not to ruin their clothing. Bura shifted uncomfortably next to Goten, blushing slightly. She looked around: Uubu had his arm around Pan's slim shoulders with Pan looking not too disgusted. Marron was resting her head on Trunks's shoulder with him stroking her hair. *They all look so happy*, Bura thought. *Why can't I have somebody like that?*
Goten couldn't stop from staring at Bura. He had known since she was born that she would grow up to be beautiful, and she was. Even Paresu's beauty didn't compare to Bura's. Goten swallowed hard.
"Here we are!" Uubu announced, stepping out of the limo and taking Pan's hand in his own. Marron and Trunks walked into the celebration together, with Goten and Bura bringing up the rear.
Once they entered the room, they were immediately surrounded by photographers. One of them held up a microphone and asked them each questions.
"So, Bura, who's this handsome young man with you tonight?" One of the nosy reporters asked her.
Bura grinned. "This is Son Goten, a personal friend of mine." Goten turned a dark shade of red. "He's the son of Son Gokuu as well."
"Sugoi!" the photographer exclaimed. After a few minutes of this, the photographers and reporters left them alone.
Goten turned to Bura, held out his hand graciously, and asked: "Bura, may I have this dance?"
Bura, smiling, took his hand and replied. "Of course."
Goten escorted his date to the center of the dance floor. He put his arms around her small waist and drew her close to him. Bura felt as though she was going to die of enjoyment, but she managed to stay looking decent. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, smiling up at him. Goten grinned back.
They danced all night. They didn't stop to rest once, for they were having too much fun. Marron and Trunks took note of this as they were sitting out.
"They haven't drawn apart since we arrived here," Marron said.
"Ya, you would think they were a couple at first glance, ne?" Trunks grinned.
Just then, the delightful melody of Blue Velvet came echoing from the speakers. Goten looked down at Bura and began to talk softly.
"Bura-chan, you look beautiful tonight."
Her heart skipped a beat. She managed to smile and reply, "You look just as wonderful, Goten-kun."
Bura rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, letting the music drift into her mind and carry her away. Goten smiled, stroking her blue locks of hair with his hand. He rested his head on her shoulder as well, and Bura smiled. Everything was so perfect. There wasn't any way it could be any more so.
"You're amazing, Bura Briefs-Vegeta," Goten murmured. "You have a wonderful life ahead of you. You'll find that lucky guy very soon."
Bura could only look up at him. *This is it!* Bura told herself. *I have to tell him.*
"Goten, there's something I must tell you," she said softly.
Goten stared back into her beautiful eyes. "There's something I must tell you as well."
The song ended. Goten drew away from Bura slowly. "Let's go outside." He smiled, then took her hand and directed her out of the door. They sat on a nearby bench as the people inside danced and laughed and had a great time.
Bura put her hands in her lap and fidgeted with her fingers. "Goten-kun..."
"Bura..."
Bura let out a long sigh, trying to breathe away her nervousness. "I must tell you something."
"Bura-chan," Goten said softly. "I love you."
She jumped unexpectedly. "Really?" she asked, her blue eyes wide.
"Hai," Goten replied. "I didn't realize it until a few days ago. The one girl I want to be with was right in front of me all along. But I was too naive to say or do anything about it."
Bura went silent, her cheeks turning red again.
"But I have to hear you say you love me, Bura-chan," Goten pointed out.
Bura looked up at him. His arm was draped over the back of the bench. He looked just as worried and unsure as she felt.
"Son Goten, I love you."
That did it. Goten leaned forward all at once and brushed his mouth against Bura's. She closed her eyes, scooting closer to him. Her first kiss-- and by someone she had loved for so long.
After a moment, they drew apart. Bura's eyes were still closed, cherishing these moments. She opened them slowly.
"Goten, what are people going to say when they see us together?"
"It doesn't matter," he replied. "You and me were meant for each other. Age is something I don't care about. As long as I have you." He kissed Bura's forehead and draped an arm around her pale shoulder. Resting against his shoulder, Bura stared off into the moonlight, thinking silently:
*I'm so lucky..."